You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2009.
The Soft Pack are slowly but surely releasing videos. I like this one better than the last, “Pull Out.” The band is in shorts, on the beach, playing a song about being down on loving- so cute! It’s almost the end of beach season on the East Coast, so here’s to California forever.
Also, new Soft Pack tour dates here, (including the Bowery Ballroom on Oct. 2).
Shark?
By Maya Grant
On Saturday I left uptown and went to the After the Jump Fest in Brooklyn, a 3-day blogger curated event in Gowanus. The show was all ages (yay for me!) and featured some killer bands. When I got there the beer & booze was already flowing amongst everyone. Left and right in the lounge people were talking, laughing and smiling. I’ve never seen so many complete strangers get along so well. Anyway, to the most important part of my night, the bands! It wasn’t my usual scene of moshing, girls being stomped on and guys being punched in the face or everyone simultaneously jumping up and down BUT, I had the pleasure of seeing Shark?, Captain Ahab and the Sea Crackens and a couple of other bands. Shark? started off the night with a mellowed out vibe, we nodded our heads along with the music and when a faster song was played, even danced a little. They had a great interaction with the crowd, cracking a few jokes every so often (about themselves or another band). Even though there are only 3 members, Shark? have a big sound, (oh the wonders of drums.) When the Sea Crackens went on the sound didn’t completely change (drum solos still kicked ass) but more and more people started to fill the room. Then, by the time Bottle Up and Go came out, head nods turned into full on dancing and singing turned into complete screams (the people there , not the bands). The night turned out to be a total hit. Maybe bloggers do know something after all…
Pic by Tod Seelie (SuckaPants)
The So So Glos pretty much epitomize the DIY Brooklyn music lifestyle to a T- a ripped tee. The “brothers” hail from Bay Ridge, founded the Market Hotel (and live there, too) with promoter Todd P and don’t have jobs (they prefer to play shows, book shows and go to bars instead). And they love Brooklyn, of course, and even love all the bloggers. The band is about to embark on a big tour with Titus Andronicus and took some time out to discuss political v. social songs, the use of the Market Hotel in the movie “Ghost” and the Oxford Diner in Missoula, Montana. Anyone ever been??
The kick-off of the Titus/So So Glos Tour is this Wednesday, Sept. 2, at Monster Island Basement.
Are you really brothers? Tell me about this.
ALEX LEVINE (vox, bass): Yeah, we are, we’re all some form of brothers and recently we adopted Matt. There’s not that much to tell about all of it really, our parents split up, and we went through their record collections.That’s that.
RYAN LEVINE (gtr): Yeah, but I came out first and then the others. We love, fight – cry with each other.
ZACH STAGGERS (drums): Well doesn’t it go: “second is the best”?
You all grew up in Bay Ridge, what was that like? Do you feel a lot of BK pride, especially in the face of so many transplants?
R: It was like “ey, what the fuck are you looking at!” When i’m in Manhattan I get anxious and when I get back over the bridge I feel like I can breath. The only two places I have ever had that home feeling are Bay Ridge and The Market Hotel.
A: Well, we’ve all moved around quite a bunch. Originally we found ourselves grouped together in Brooklyn.
Z: I think we have 3 out of the 5 Boroughs plus 2 Suburbs under our belt. We still have yet to live on Manhattan or Staten Island- although we did record both albums there. Does that count?
A: Yeah, I can’t count how many times I’ve moved anymore, most all of the moves have been in the greater metropolitan area though. Too much pride is a dangerous thing I think, we’re aware that we’re products of our environment, wherever that may be.
You seem like a “real” punk band, what with the music you play and the lyrics you sing (Fuck the FCC!). How did this happen? Did you always play punk?
A: We grew up listening to a lot of different music and we never learned how to play our instruments, we’ve always had a bit of a tiff with the status quo. Punk is a strange word, and an endless existential debate that we’ll save for some other time. We play music, we write songs, most of the time they’re protest pop songs. We like when people exercise their minds and feet and the same time. Sometimes people call us punks, sometimes people call us scenesters, or whatever.
Z: Yeah, too punk for the “indies” – too straight for the punks. We never fit in. We just got our first “Douchebags” by a blogger. To be fair at the end of the write-up, they retracted the claim. But, labels are labels and just like in everything, people get stuck.
A: So we just call everyone the same- So So Glos, like us.
Would you consider yourselves a political band?
R: A social commentary band.
A: I would say, we are band. A band with ears and eyes, and we’re listening and watching. Oh, and we’ve got a mouth that can scream too.
I guess what he sees in Beyonce?? Which is?? Girl has pipes but that can’t make a song great. Same thing with G.B. They are talented but their songs don’t hold together. Anyway- this must have been a cool colliding of worlds, either way. What Brooklyn Vegan said was funny- this could have just been a nice Grizzly Bear show. Instead it was the Beyonce and Jay-Z go to Grizzly Bear show.
Watch this video…hilarious.
The rumors are true and “Grand Mal” is available here. Very typical of the XO period, it is.
I’m reading the 33 1/3 “XO” book right now. I couldn’t feel more at peace with the circuitous nature of the planet…
Details at Pitchfork. Sweet Adeline Message Board.
Elliott Smith: Grand Mal
By Maya Grant
It is a pleasure to bring you the one man band, Ducktails. New Jersey native Matt Mondanile has been getting wide acclaim on the blogs lately and for good reason- he brings back the psychedelic sounds of the 60s and 70s, with electronics. His hazy instrumental compositions make you feel as if you should be laid up under the sun in the grass somewhere. Give him a listen (check out his new LP Landscapes) and I swear you can hear the guy’s soul. Close your eyes and you can see the colors. You can catch Ducktails in Brooklyn tonight playing with Burning Star Core, Noveller and Talk Normal at Bruar Falls. He’s also going on tour through Australia and New Zealand…woah.
Ducktails: Landrunner
Ducktails: Landrunner
UPDATE: Not mentioned but important detail: Mondanile is also in Real Estate.
See Chocolate Bobka’s video below. Amazing colors.
more about “CHOCOLATE BOBKA: video: Ducktails “Va…“, posted with vodpod
It is my life. The DP’s is everything that means anything. I’m utterly without words. But here they are, coming out…This is not just some form of entertainment. Dave Longstreth is like a genius, a musical genius. He’s like the Robert Frost of Rock Music, fuck I don’t know. He writes and sings and plays and is just a man, but why do my eyes fill with tears when the notes are just right??? Why does my spine tingle and make me know it’s there? It’s like that age old conundrum, how does one respond to sound?? I guess like this! The planets are aligned or something when he is at work. Just watch this video, he talks like a scientist about music. When you get to about 7 minutes in Angel and Amber demonstrate something incredible called hocketing:
See more videos here.
The band is on tour, you have to see the show. I mean, your life will fucking change. I promise.
Here’s an mp3, cos you NEED it.
Dirty Projectors: Temecula
Video of same song:
Pic by Bobb Lovett
I’ve written about these bossy and scrappy Atlanta women before. The Coathangers album, Scramble, which came out in the Spring, was a rollicking good time. The band is back on tour this fall with Nerve Hunt (which features a Wavves member, I guess the old drummer??) and Japandroids. The band stops in Brooklyn to play The Maze at Death by Audio on Sept. 29. All dates here. Here’s a track from their album.
The Coathangers: Toomerhead
The Coathangers: Toomerhead
This arrived in my inbox and so I threw it on. Ok, Ok. I clicked on the play button with the mouse. Sigh. Technological details aside, this picked me up! Welcome to Thursday! Welcome to Nike High Tops with neon green shoe laces! Welcome to crazy town! Woah. I better catch myself. Take a listen, you’ll see.
Desktop is Keith Thompson and Zach Curd. They hail from Detroit.
Including, apparently, Times New Viking! The band is from Columbus, Ohio, so I guess it makes sense. TNV are releasing the Move to California 7″ on Sept. 7, and their upcoming full length Born Again Revisited is out on Sept. 22 on Matador. The band is going on a big North American and European tour. Dates here.
This song is a jangly pop perfection- and the jangled male and female vocals are masterful. A little whiny, a little abrasive; a perfect mix.
This song makes me want to pack it in. But not in the negative way. I feel like I can pack it up, pack it in, and begin.
Times New Viking: Move to California
Times New Viking: Move to California
